Tag: Tim Duncan

LeBron James Finals Re-Watch Diary: Game 4, 2007 NBA Finals

LeBron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers get close, but they had too many crucial failures to extend their series against the Spurs.

During the NBA’s indefinite hiatus, I will be rewatching every game of LeBron’s NBA Finals career. Every Finals game from the last 20 years is available to NBA League Pass subscribers on the NBA app or through apps like YouTube TV. We will be going chronologically through LeBron’s Finals career. 

Previous Games

Game 1, 2007 NBA Finals

Game 2, 2007 NBA Finals 

Game 3, 2007 NBA Finals

The Cavs are down 3-0 and the crowd is once again hyped as they are searching for their first-ever NBA Finals franchise victory. Ilgauskas is called for a violation on the tip-off, giving the ball to Spurs. What would the Uncut Gems folks do with that one? The broadcast then shows that the Cavs have only been swept once before in the playoffs, back in 1993 against the Chicago Bulls. It would happen again in 2018. Gotta give it to the Cavs franchise though, they only get swept by champions.

I know that a lot of folks like to break awards down to Heisman-type moments, like Paolo Uggetti at The Ringer. Parker just had one. He went end to end, blowing by the Cavs defense and got the ball off the glass JUST before LeBron missed the chase down. If only Andre Iguodala had studied the Tony Parker game film. And now a driving Ginobili lay-up, that tandem was underrated, gives the Spurs a 17-16 lead. So once again, the Cavs play high-energy ball on both ends but are trailing. Maybe my Parker hatred is just jealousy that he was married to Eva Longoria?

The Cavs finally get LeBron into a set with some movement. Eric Snow screens for Varejao, who sets a screen for LeBron (screening the screener!), coming off of an initial screen from Marshall. It leads to a foul for Bowen, but this is the kind of stuff that the Cavs didn’t bring out enough in Games 1, 2 or 3. It was all too simple, but simple adjustments could have made things more interesting for the Cavs offense. See, Mike Brown is good, he just didn’t know what was good until it was too late.

A Ginobili 3-pointer makes it 30-25 and also, LeBron is being attended to on the bench. He has a cut on his knee and it’s getting taped up. LeBron gets back in shortly and the offensive rebounds for the Cavs keep coming. They were first in the league in offensive rebounds, no wonder they brought in JJ Hickson so soon after! Eric Snow dimes up Big Z and it’s a 32-31 game. But Tony Parker hits another uncharacteristic 3-pointer, this time from the corner. He has 13 in the first half, those are the kind of Heisman moments that get you the Finals MVP, even if Duncan was the best player on the floor every game.

After a Drew Gooden basket, the ABC broadcast lets us know that LeBron James just had a child, his second, Bryce Maximus. Now Stuart Scott tells us that LeBron originally wanted to name him Maximus, because of the movie Gladiator with Russell Crowe that won the 2001 Oscar for Best Picture, but he allowed it to be a middle name because his future wife Savannah liked the name Bryce. He also got the first choice on naming their first child, LeBron James Jr, who you know today as Bronny James.

The Cavs have clawed back into this game and made it a 44-40 score. ABC is now showing a bunch of the players Bruce Bowen has guarded in the playoffs. Allen Iverson, Carmelo Anthony, Steve Nash, Deron Williams and now LeBron James. Honestly, a pretty cool montage if you loved basketball in the mid-2000s.

Duncan and Oberto just worked the two-man game to get Duncan free-throws and honestly, now I know why Duncan did a Motorcycle Diaries tour through South America with Oberto. This guy rules. He probably knows all the best churrasco spots in the Argentine countryside.

Also, the Spurs continue to be perfect on defense. No matter who does anything on the Cavs, they are covered completely. The Spurs defense is just suffocating and inspiring in the way that they never give up on perfecting their scheme. Also, another one of my favorite subplots of the series is Robert Horry physically harming LeBron James before checking on him. Horry hits LeBron across the face, a foul is called and Horry is very worried for LeBron’s well-being. This is how you know he’s an elite role guy.

A Boobie Gibson 3-pointer cracks the 50-point mark for the Cavs just before the 4th quarter, making it 60-52 Spurs to go into the 4th quarter. The Cavs have 12 minutes. Now Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy, both EMPLOYEES OF ABC, are saying Tony Parker should be the MVP as the best player in the series. I mean, maybe?

In the fourth quarter, I notice there is a woman yelling near the microphone on every Spurs offensive possession. She keeps yelping and making weird noises. Did this lady show up during the other Cavs Finals? I feel like I heard her during those Golden State series. Anyway, feel free to mute gameplay during this time.

Varejao ties it with a layup at 66-66 and LeBron gets his 9th assist. The Cavs were a scrappy bunch, even if they weren’t a fun offensive team. They were grinders. But Ginobili helps slow down the bootstraps story by making a 3-pointer to make it 69-66 and LeBron can’t answer.

A possession that starts with a Parker-Duncan pick and roll goes into a Duncan-Ginobili DHO and Ginobili scores on the drive. It’s 76-69 and the game is over. Fans are leaving in Cleveland. The Cavs were a squad, but the Spurs were too stacked. No shame in the loss, but it will be a few years before LeBron gets to taste this stage of basketball again.

Damon Jones hits a garbage 3-pointer to help the Cavs cover a 2.5-point spread, but they lost and LeBron will have to wait four years before he’s here again. We will see you next week to see how LeBron learns from this first NBA Finals experience, four years later, as a member of the Miami Heat.

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1997 NBA re-draft: The way it should have been

The 1997 draft had an all-time great in Tim Duncan, a Hall of Fame swingman in Tracy McGrady and a Finals MVP in Chauncey Billups, but there was not an awful lot after that.

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The 1997 draft had an all-time great in Tim Duncan, a Hall of Fame swingman in Tracy McGrady and a Finals MVP in Chauncey Billups, but there was not an awful lot after that.

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LeBron James Finals Re-Watch Diary: Game 2, 2007 NBA Finals

LeBron James is more aggressive after a disappointing Game 1 but foul trouble and the Spurs shooters stopped a potentially great night.

During the NBA’s indefinite hiatus, I will be rewatching every game of LeBron’s NBA Finals career. Every Finals game from the last 20 years is available to NBA League Pass subscribers on the NBA app or through apps like YouTube TV. We will be going chronologically through LeBron’s Finals career. 

Previous Games

Game 1, 2007 NBA Finals

Game 2 Rewatch Diary

Mike Breen relays to the audience that LeBron James said he will be more aggressive in this game after he went 4 for 16. Dick Bavetta, whom you may know from racing Charles Barkley, is the crew chief tonight.

Despite the bad foot, Mike Brown really wants to get Larry Hughes going and they start the first half of Game 2 the way the start every half in the first two games, trying to get Hughes a midrange pull-up. It’s a miss but LeBron rebounds it and puts in for the first points of the game. It took him until the third quarter to get a field goal in Game 1. An early encouraging sign for LeBron, but the game quickly goes sideways, due in part to LeBron’s aggression and as well as a  lack of calculated risk-taking by Mike Brown.

LeBron is driving, looking for rebounding opportunities and making things happen, but then he picks up his 2nd foul less than three minutes in the game. Brown, much to the chagrin of Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson, decides to take LeBron out with the Spurs up 8-4. It’s Boobie Gibson time, the Cavs leading scorer from Game 1. But without LeBron, the game quickly gets out of hand on both ends.

I came off as a Parker hater after Game 1 and while I still think Duncan is the biggest reason they won, Parker hits layup after layup to make the lead double-digits in the blink of an eye. The Cavs consistently have no answer for a properly run pick and roll. I can only imagine how badly the 2007 Suns would have destroyed them.

Mark Jackson gets his wish! Eric Snow is in! Snow knocked the ball away from Parker and showed that maybe Jackson has a point. Drew Gooden just had his jumper sent by old Robert Horry, who is in at stretch 4 while Duncan plays center. Also, I’m apologizing to Mark Jackson. Eric Snow knows what he’s doing, he just can’t play the minutes he used to when he was the second guard on the 2001 Sixers. But he’s giving the Cavs a bit of competence while they wait for Mike Brown to finally put LeBron back in.

LeBron is in the game again to start the 2nd quarter and misses a 20-footer with the Cavs down 28-17. At least he’s shooting. LeBron keeps shooting, double-teams or not. He’s really in his Mamba Mentality tonight, but truthfully it’s about 85% full Mamba. But he’s at least a live wire for the Cavs offense that has been sleepwalking for the last quarter on their way to 16 points. He ended up taking 21 shots, but I came away wondering if he should have taken a few more.

Later in the quarter we finally get something fun. LeBron in transition! A steal from Gibson sets him up. Tony Parker just got called for another travel. This crew loved a travel call. While we are here, I’m going to rank the top 5 Cavs on this team. Mostly because this is now a 58-30 Spurs lead, which in this series is 60 points.

1. LeBron

2. Boobie

3. Sasha

4. Andy

5. Illgauskas/Donyell Marshall

The Spurs come out a little slow to start and the Cavs remembered that they are in the NBA Finals. Hughes did a good job setting up a midrange J on the pick and roll for Gooden, but Gooden is clearly not helping as much as Varejao. LeBron to Sasha for 3 and the Cavs have it down to 21! But he Spurs are going for the kill. Horry just blocked Gooden again and the Spurs drivers have plenty of room to roam. Also, Ratatouille is coming soon to theaters!

This is officially the Horry game. A 3 by Horry puts the Spurs up 87-60. Now Pop gets Horry a curtain call and he gets a standing ovation from the Spurs crowd. By the end of the night, Horry had five blocks and it felt like all of them were on Gooden. Meanwhile, Manu Ginobili had 25 off the bench.

Gibson gets a jumper to cut the lead to 14. The Spurs also have Brent Barry and Tony Parker in together, which is bad for several reasons which you can google about. Pop is doing a rope-a-dope, but we should give credit to the Cavs. They didn’t knock off the Pistons with a magic bullet. The Cavs have the lead down to 10 and now 9 after a LeBron take and they aren’t giving in.

The Cavs made this game somewhat interesting in the 4th quarter, in large part due to putting Andy Varejao at center with LeBron and three shooters in Boobie, Damon Jones, and Donyell Marshall, a formula that has proven to be optimal for maximizing LeBron nearly a decade and a half later. But it was a move that was made too late.

Parker just had a spinning pirouette of a finish and maybe that’s why they gave him the MVP. Or maybe was it because he was engaged to Eva Longoria and it was rigged as a marketing move to promote ABC’s Desperate Housewives? I’m just saying anything is on the table. And now an And-1 for LeBron over Duncan! This game is way better than the last one.

But the Spurs get it together before a full collapse happens. Bron tries to drive on Robert Horry but he can’t finish and takes a tumble. Horry then is late getting back on offense because he’s helping LeBron up. Here we see 22-year old LeBron still not knowing exactly when and where to attack. But Horry knows how great the guy he stopped is. Then LeBron commits another turnover as the Spurs blitzing his pick and rolls leads to his 6th turnover of the game. Then Ginobili hit a four-point play, with one of the rare missteps for Boobie Gibson in the first two games. Gibson ended with 15 off the bench.

All in all, LeBron played better and the game was much more interesting late than the previous one. LeBron finished with 25 points on 9 of 21 shooting to go with seven rebounds and six assists. He also played 35 of the 36 remaining minutes in the game after his first-quarter foul-trouble. Much, much better overall. But were their moves the Cavs could have made earlier? I think there are. Tomorrow, the series and LeBron’s Finals career shifts back to his home of Northeast Ohio. See you then.

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LeBron James Finals Re-Watch Diary: Game 1, 2007 NBA Finals

With the NBA on pause, we will look back at all of the games LeBron James has played in the NBA Finals. We start with his first Finals game.

With the NBA on hold for at least three months, making a season cancellation even more likely, I will be diving into the NBA Finals career of LeBron James, the reason for this website. Luckily for me and other people who bought NBA League Pass, every NBA Finals game from the last 20 years is available and I figured this would be the right time to truly go through what LeBron’s Finals career was actually like. 3-6 is what gets cited and the record is undeniable, but the hope of this project is to add a little bit more illustration to how he got there. So without any further preamble, we start with LeBron James’ first Finals game in San Antonio. 

LeBron James just demolished the Detroit Pistons, who had been the team of the decade in the East since 2004, with the playoff performance of the year. He was even wearing the same blue jersey in Game 1 against the Spurs that he wore when he scored 25 straight points to beat the Pistons in Game 5 in Detroit before winning in 6 to go to his first NBA Finals. Now the sage veteran, this version of LeBron James is only 22 and playing in his first NBA Finals. What awaits LeBron is a steely machine of efficiency and defense in the 2007 Spurs.

So as we start the game, let’s take a moment to appreciate some of the starters on both teams in this game. At Center for the Spurs: it’s Fabricio Oberto! Starting at the other wing for the Cavaliers: Sasha Pavlovic! Sasha has a plantar fascia issue but he’s a crucial part of their team. This also says a lot about the 2007 Cavs. Larry Hughes, who was way better on NBA Live 07 than he actually was. The 2006 Wizards will always have a soft spot in my heart. Drew Gooden starting in the NBA Finals! Remember him? And his hair was terrible. Was he a bizarro Carlos Boozer?

The first possession for the Spurs is a post-up to Tim Duncan where he gets TRIPLE TEAMED, leading to a Michael Finley pull-up. As for the Cavs, Drew Gooden got called for an offensive foul. A pretty fitting summation of the dynamic between the two teams. Also, so many post entry passes! A lost art! Also, Tony Parker is dominating but it’s all because he has Duncan. Never forget this when we talk about the Spurs.

Why is the offense running through Larry Hughes? LeBron dishes to Big Z for the first bucket. Jeff Van Gundy also wants the Cavs to post up Gooden and Illgauskas when LeBron James is on the court! TOO MUCH LARRY HUGHES.

Tony Parker and Tim Duncan are getting anything they want in pick and roll. Very early on a trend emerges that will break the series: the Spurs know how to play the pick and roll and the Cavs do not.  LeBron misses his first shot, midrange fadeaway. He’s gotten a lot better at those since then. LeBron is also getting moved off of his spot in the post by Bruce Bowen.

After a few possessions of Parker and Duncan slicing them up, Mike Brown puts LeBron on Parker and the pick and roll defense but it could not matter any less. Early on it feels a bit like the 2018 Finals. Except that LeBron hasn’t really decided that he can take over because his jumper isn’t there. And the Spurs are killing the Cavs with 2s and not 3s, so it feels closer than it really is. But it kinda feels over five minutes in. LeBron is being a team player but it feels like he’s blending in too much.

LeBron posts up finally but he goes right into a double team. He’s posting a lot as part of the gameplan but he doesn’t have much feel for where the help is coming. The Spurs are building a wall, sending two or three guys and the Cavs other starters can’t really do anything with it. Also, the Cavs are really bad at help defense. Like really bad. The Spurs passing and patience are exposing what had been a top-four defense in defensive rating.

The score says 16-13, but it’s really not that close. LeBron knows it too. He didn’t even try to go for the chasedown block on Ginobili. Meanwhile, Tim Duncan is absolutely destroying the Cavs on both ends. They have no answer for him. Stuart Scott on the sidelines! RIP!

LeBron just got fouled on a layup and he just scored his first career NBA points at the free-throw line. It took to the 1:12 mark of the first quarter. Jacque Vaughn just hit a shot from inside the corner 3 line. Oh, 2007.

Offensive foul on LeBron. This happened quite a lot as the Spurs had clear objectives against James to force the ball from his hands, double him on the pick and roll and force the rest of the Cavs to beat them. The Spurs are just too locked in. Mike Breen just said Boobie Gibson has shown he can be a special player. This is definitely Peak Boobie. They tied the game in large part due to Gibson. He ended the game with a team-high 16 off the bench on 7 of 9 shooting.

The 2007 Spurs are also a hilarious exercise in what David Roth calls Remembering Guys. Francisco Elson! Also, I find a lot of similarities in the way the Spurs use Tim Duncan to the way the Lakers use Anthony Davis. Almost always playing him with another big man even though he’s the superior big man. But Pelicans fans wanted to run AD out of town because he didn’t like being a fulltime center, but nobody called Tim Duncan a diva.

Also, it’s 25-24 midway through the 2nd quarter! Cavs lead! But not for long, Tony Parker dropping a dime to Elson for an And-1 on the fastbreak because Elson outruns Drew Gooden.

Even in semi transition, the Spurs have a wall around the paint against LeBron. It kinda looks like watching how teams guard Giannis. Except that the Bucks have properly optimized the players around LeBron in a way that the early Cavs could not.

Sasha Pavlovic is also doing things. Eric Snow told Stuart Scott that LeBron is thinking too much. Eric Snow, who isn’t playing, also should be playing more according to Mark Jackson because he’s Cleveland’s “best on-ball defender.” It’s comforting in these times to know Mark Jackson hasn’t changed.

Back to the actual game, the Spurs are mixing up their looks on LeBron on the pick and roll and he is just not that confident in the jumper yet. And anytime he gets a screen, they double team him and force the ball from his hands. It’s basically what Damian Lillard and Steph Curry see every playoff. But Popovich doesn’t want LeBron even think he has a chance to get going. Stan Van Gundy just got the Orlando job. LeBron missed another 3, now he’s 1 for 10. It’s been a rough night for him and making the right play has helped Cleveland stay in the game, but it increasingly looks like the Cavs bought a rock to a knife fight.

Tony Parker also just dropped the rings argument when talking about Baron Davis. Tough scene for Baron, who it should be said is way cooler than Tony Parker. Gooden just had a flagrant 1 with the Cavs down by nine, which might as well be 25 in this game. A 3 from Robert Horry! It’s 67-49 in the fourth quarter! Even my wife can’t believe the score.

This game feels like the platonic ideal of basketball for Gregg Popovich and now I have to just say thank god for Mike D’Antoni. Mine is somewhere between the two. But the Spurs just keep pounding the rock and the Cavs look to have cracked. The Cavs are down by 18. They got LeBron in a low pick and roll with two screens, then he drives left and hits the pull up 3. That’s old hat for LeBron now but in this game it feels like a small miracle. Then James hits another 3 over Bowen. He’s not passing when they double immediately anymore. It’s the 4th quarter and he doesn’t really have a choice. But it feels too late.

Pavlovic time! The cup runneth over with Sasha! After the LeBron 3-pointers, Pavlovic gets cooking with a few buckets to finish with 13 points. Then a LeBron James block on Tony Parker elicits a “BLOCKED BY JAMES” from Mike Breen. They also really need to play Boobie Gibson more. It’s down to 8 with 1:17 left. LeBron misses the stepback 3 that would have made it a game but Duncan hits a layup and it’s a 10 point game.

LeBron finished with 14 points, seven rebounds, and four assists while playing 44 minutes and shooting four for 16 from the field in his first Finals game. It was rough, but his journey with the Spurs is just beginning.

See you back here tomorrow for Game 2.

NBA fans are wondering why Becky Hammon isn’t the Spurs’ acting head coach

Tim Duncan is leading the bench instead.

Becky Hammon is Gregg Popovich’s lead assistant coach. She’s been on the bench for the Spurs for six seasons now and worked her way up their coaching ranks.

So when Popovich misses a game and Hammon is not slotted as the team’s acting head coach, it’s totally fair to question why that is so. That’s what NBA fans were doing when it was reported that Popovich was missing Tuesday night’s game for personal reasons.

Spurs legend Tim Duncan, who was just hired by the team last July, will coach in Popovich’s place instead of Hammon. And NBA fans, naturally, had questions.

What makes this even weirder is the reports that Hammon could be addressing the media instead of Duncan.

It’s an odd situation that the internet is trying to figure out. One theory is that the Spurs are grooming Duncan to be the head coach once Popovich leaves the organization.

That theory doesn’t really hold up, though. Sure, they might not be hiring one of the greatest players of all-time to JUST be an assistant coach.

But there aren’t many assistant coaches in the NBA who don’t have aspirations of being anything more than an assistant coach and that includes Hammon. And it’s no secret that she has interest in being a head coach —she’s interested in the Knicks job, for crying out loud.

The answer to fans’ Hammon questions may lie in a scenario from earlier this season. When Popovich was ejected from a game against the Trail Blazers it appeared that Hammon was making calls from the bench but Popovich himself told us that Duncan was the “acting head coach” but that his assistants have an arrangement where they’re coaching by committee.

Duncan was named acting head coach because he was assigned to scout that team. Hammon had the clipboard and even led a huddle, but wasn’t technically the head coach.

Duncan could just have been assigned this team again. And maybe Duncan not having to address the media alludes to that. It’s hard to say and we don’t want to assume.

For now, we have more questions than answers. Hopefully, once the media gets a hold of one of these coaches tonight, more will be revealed.

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Antoine Walker Q&A: ‘I’d probably make $300 million in today’s NBA’

Antoine Walker talks about being voted to Chicago’s all-time starting five, how he’d fare in today’s NBA, his off-court endeavors and more.

Leading up to NBA All-Star Weekend in Chicago, fans had an opportunity to vote on an all-time starting five of Chicago-born players. Derrick Rose, Isiah Thomas, Dwyane Wade, Anthony Davis and Antoine Walker were crowned the winners, and the results were announced at Posterized: The Chicago Experience (powered by Jim Beam) at the Chicago Sports Museum. 

HoopsHype had a chance to chat with Walker shortly after he received this honor. The three-time All-Star averaged 17.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.2 steals over the course of his 12-year NBA career. We talked to Walker about Chicago’s all-time starting five, his impressive NBA career, life after basketball, his off-court endeavors, today’s NBA and more.

You were named to Chicago’s all-time starting five and this was announced at Posterized: The Chicago Experience (powered by Jim Beam). What does that honor mean to you?

Antoine Walker: I was excited and it means a lot because we have so much talent coming out of Chicago, including some guys that people don’t even know about. We’ve had so many guys who have made it to the pros and so many guys who have had great careers. To be recognized by people in Chicago and all around the world, it means the world to me. There was some stiff competition too. Mark Aguirre didn’t make the Top 5, but he should be in the Hall of Fame and he should be in the city’s all-time Top 5 because he was one of the greatest players to ever play, but he never gets his just due. To be able to get some just due makes me feel really, really good.

Chicago has produced so many talented players over the years. Why do you think we’ve seen so many great players come from Chicago and is there something that this city’s players have in common? 

AW: I think we’ve seen so many great players come from Chicago because of the foundation that was laid down a long time ago when you think about guys like Mark Aguirre, Isiah Thomas, Maurice Cheeks and Tim Hardaway. Honestly, I also believe it’s because of the media. There’s a lot of coverage of Chicago sports and it starts at such an early age. I remember being in eighth grade and being ranked the No. 1 eighth-grader in the state. I think because we put such an emphasis on the sport of basketball, that makes a lot of kids want to play. We’ve been very fortunate to have a lot of pros come out of this city. Our list of pros is just as strong as any other city in the world. This is a sports town and people really get excited about basketball, and they get behind these players and teams. I think that’s why you see [some] people consider it to be the Mecca.

You were ahead of your time with your three-point shooting. People used to criticize your shot selection because you attempted a lot of threes, but with how the game has evolved, clearly you were onto something. Do you feel vindicated?

AW: Oh, without question! I probably would’ve made $300 million in today’s NBA, if I could’ve played in this day and age! But I think it shows the skill level of big men. We’re seeing that big guys can do some of the things that small guys can do. It was a tough time for me when I was doing it; I used to get ripped for shooting so many threes. But I really give Jim O’Brien a lot of credit. When he took over for Rick Pitino, he’s the one who instilled that confidence in me as a shooter. He’d say, “Anytime you get an opportunity to shoot, shoot it!” Once he put that confidence in me, I didn’t have a problem shooting. I wasn’t bashful. (laughs) I went out there and played my game. Now, playing that way is looked at as exciting. And it is fun to watch! Watching some of these big men take the ball full-court, coast to coast, and then seeing some of these centers be able to step out and shoot threes – guys like Marc Gasol and Anthony Davis – it makes for a fun style of basketball.

Are there any current players who remind you of yourself?

AW: Hmm, I don’t know. I like Draymond Green and his all-around game. He’s a better defender, but as far as his skill set – pushing the basketball, getting other guys shots and things like that… I probably shot the three better than him, but I really like the way he plays. I like Giannis Antetokoumpo’s versatility and long arms and ability to make plays for other people. I like all forwards who get five or six assists per game, the guys who are really good passers. Those are the guys who I really enjoy watching – not necessarily that our games are similar, but more so that our mindset and the way we approach the game are similar. I really enjoy watching those guys play.

What was it like making the transition to broadcasting and how are you enjoying that?

AW: The transition has been great because it gave me a chance to be connected to the game again. I’ve really enjoyed it. I’m a student of the game and I love the NBA game as well as the college game. I watch basketball every single day. It’s part of my life, so to be able to now talk about it every day is really special to me. A lot of guys don’t get an opportunity to continue to do what we love and still be a part of this game at the level that I’m at, so I don’t take it for granted. I really love the opportunity to talk about the game that I love.

Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images

If you could go back and give 20-year-old Antoine advice, what would it be?

AW: It would probably be teaching him about generational wealth. I never thought about generational wealth when I was playing and making a lot of money. I would make sure that I have enough money not only for myself but for my kids and their kids. I wish somebody would’ve taught me about generational wealth and how I wouldn’t be able to play this game forever and that, after I retire, I’d still have the rest of my life to live. I wish somebody would’ve told me that at age 20.

That’s what I would tell my 20-year-old self, and that’s what I make sure to tell all of these young guys who are playing in the league now. I just try to turn a negative into a positive and teach these young guys. When you’re 19 or 20 years old, you just see that you’re making a lot of money right now, but one day that comes to an end. Make sure you’ve put aside enough money for yourself and your kids and their kids. Make sure you have generational wealth.

In the past, we’ve discussed your bankruptcy and work as a financial adviser to athletes. I know you work with Edyoucore and Greg Oden recently became an athlete advisor with them as well. Greg told me that while he enjoys it, he hopes that these athletes listen and actually apply these lessons. When you’ve talked to players, how do they typically respond and does it seem like your advice sinks in?

AW: I think it really is impacting them. I think it starts a conversation and I think it puts a lot of things on their mind since they’re dealing with their own personal situations. They may not publicly come out and say that they’re taking that advice, but I know that a lot of them are taking it wholeheartedly and applying it to their life. I think you’re going to see that the percentage of athletes and entertainers who have financial problems after their career ends is going to change. And I think it’s because of these types of programs, which are very impactful. You’d be surprised how many guys come up to me afterward to thank me for coming and thank me for sharing my story and ask for more information. They talk about how they’re going to take that information and use it in their own life and make the right decisions. I think this is going to be a tremendous help, and I think it’s off to a great start.

In addition to the financial advising and broadcasting, do you have any other off-court endeavors you’re working on?

AW: I’m coming out with a book, hopefully here in the next two months. It’s going to be a financial-literacy learning tool for everybody – not just athletes. I want to share my story and the things that I’ve learned. And I just want to continue to grow. I’m very comfortable in the space that I’m in right now. I want to continue to grow my TV career to where I can continue to be a TV analyst for 10-15 more years. I want to continue to grow in that space. 

But I also have aspirations of one day working for an NBA team, maybe in a front office. I’d like to try to build a championship team. I believe that I have a very good basketball IQ and I think I know the game very well, so I think I could be a positive addition to any front office. That’s on my bucket list – hopefully one day I can work for a team and help them win a championship.

Who was the toughest defender you ever faced? Were there certain players you dreaded facing because they’d lock you down?

AW: I would say it was the guys with length, like Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan and Rasheed Wallace. Those kind of guys were very tough for me to go up against. Because of their length, I wasn’t really able to post them up the way I would like to, so I would always have to take them off the dribble or step back and shoot the three.

But the guy who was probably the toughest to score against was probably Dennis Rodman. That goes back to my first couple of years in the league. I played against Dennis in ‘96, ‘97 and ‘98 during their championship runs and he was tough as nails and so hard to score against. Those guys were really the ones who gave me trouble. Length was something that always bothered me.

Chicago’s all-time starting five was announced at Posterized: The Chicago Experience, which was a fun event that showcased Chicago’s food, music and art. What did you think of the party?

AW: I loved it, man. I thought it was a great event. When you think about how the All-Star Game hadn’t been in Chicago in 32 years, I thought they did a great job highlighting our city – and not just the basketball. The concept behind the Posterized event was showing people Chicago and what it’s like; it wasn’t just about our basketball. Obviously, it was built around basketball and All-Star Weekend, but it highlighted Garrett’s Popcorn, Chicago dogs, step dancing and teaching people how we dance, our art, the celebrities who came out were from Chicago and have been influential in Chicago and things like that. I thought it was great and it showed Chicago in a different light. I really enjoyed the event, and I loved being a part of it. And it was extra exciting that I got some love while I was there, finishing in the all-time Top 5! It was great all around.

LeBron James to become second all-time in All-Star games played

LeBron James will take sole possession of second place all-time for All-Star games played Sunday night.

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is currently first in six statistical categories for All-Star game history, and on Sunday night, he will be a step closer to becoming first for another one.

A 16-time All-Star, James will play in his 16th All-Star game at the United Center in Chicago. According to ESPN Stats & Info, James will take sole possession of second place for All-Star games played, trailing only Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who played 18 in his Hall of Fame career.

James will pass Tim Duncan and the late Kobe Bryant for second on the list. Both Duncan and Bryant have been named as finalists for the 2020 Hall of Fame class, per ESPN’s Tim Bontemps. 

The All-Star game will tip off at 8 p.m. EST, and it will be televised on TNT.

A three-time All-Star game MVP, James has averaged 24.1 points per game and 5.9 assists in the midseason exhibition match. He is also the game’s all-time leader in points, 3-pointers made and field goals made.

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Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett finalists for Hall of Fame

The Hall of Fame announced it’s finalists for the 2020 class of Hall of Fame inductees, including Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant.

As part of the annual tradition of NBA All-Star Weekend, in which the game is celebrated throughout the weekend, the James Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced its 2020 class of finalists, of which a select few will be inducted into the hall in Springfield, Massachusetts, later this year. This year, like much of the activities, will be at this particular All-Star Weekend, is bittersweet.

The 2020 class of finalists is led by the late Kobe Bryant, who was inducted a year earlier than usual due to his tragic death as well as that of his daughter and seven others in a helicopter crash. Bryant joins his former rivals, Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan, as well as his one-time coach Rudy Tomjanovich and WNBA legend Tamika Catchings. Former Oklahoma State head coach Eddie Sutton, Baylor women’s head coach Kim Mulkey and longtime Division II women’s coach Barbar Stevens are also finalists.

LeBron’s former Miami Heat teammate Chris Bosh was the most notable omission from the list of finalists.

The inductees are expected to be announced on April 4.

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Zion Time: The most anticipated debuts in NBA history and how each NBA legend fared

The NBA debut of Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson is so anticipated that ESPN is bumping its marquee game of Nuggets-Rockets to showcase the 19-year-old phenom play his first game against the Spurs in New Orleans on Wednesday, Jan. 22. With that in …

The NBA debut of Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson is so anticipated that ESPN is bumping its marquee game of Nuggets-Rockets to showcase the 19-year-old phenom play his first game against the Spurs in New Orleans on Wednesday, Jan. 22.

With that in mind, let’s take a look back at how NBA legends did in their regular-season debuts.

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Notre Dame Basketball: Irish Take Aim at Yellow Jackets

Slowly but surely becoming desperate to get its second ACC win, Notre Dame (10-6, 1-4) will get its next crack when it visits Georgia Tech (8-8, 3-3) on Wednesday. Historically, that will present a challenge as the Yellow Jackets are 10-1 against …

Slowly but surely becoming desperate to get its second ACC win, Notre Dame (10-6, 1-4) will get its next crack when it visits Georgia Tech (8-8, 3-3) on Wednesday. Historically, that will present a challenge as the Yellow Jackets are 10-1 against the Irish at McCamish Pavilion. The good news for the Irish is they have won the past two games in this head-to-head matchup, so they’ll at least have that recent rend working in their favor.

A double-double for John Mooney in this game would be his 11th in a row, and that would tie the school record set by Luke Harangody in the 2008-09 season. It took him 15 games this season to get to 200 rebounds, tying Blake Griffin in his second and final year at Oklahoma (2008-09) for the second-quickest march to that mark for a major conference player. He is the sixth player in all of Division I to reach 200 boards in 15 games. Only Tim Duncan at Wake Forest and Adonal Foyle at Colgate have done it in 14 games, both during the 1996-97 season.